Dyes, preservatives and salicylates in the induction of food intolerance and/or hypersensitivity in children.

We present 25 patients, aged between 18 and 153 months, with clinical symptoms suggestive of allergy to food antigens. After undergoing exhaustive studies (including case histories, cutaneous tests for reactions to food antigen, peripheral eosinophils, secretory and humoral immunity, determination of total IgE and of specific RAST, exclusion-provocation diets) and without being able to identify an offender, patients were submitted to oral provocation with different food additives (tartrazine, sunset yellow FCF, new coccine, erythrosine, sodium benzoate, 4-methyl hydroxybenzoate and acetylsalicylic acid) after 48 hours of exclusion from their diets of dyes, preservatives and salicylates. The results obtained reflect, at a global level, 57.89% of positivities for dyes, 34.21% for the benzoates and 7.81% for acetyl-salicylic acid. The low incidence of crossed intolerance phenomena should be emphasized (32% of the patients). The disparity of our results with those of other authors could be due to the age of our patients, the clinical patterns they present and the dietary habits of different countries and regions.